This invention is related in general to networks and more specifically relates to digital networks and accompanying systems and methods for improving or optimizing network performance.
Digital networks are employed in various demanding applications including military, university, and business applications. Such applications often demand reliable high-performance networks that optimize-network resource usage.
Systems for improving or optimizing network performance are particularly important in large networks, which often have many routers connected in various configurations that can lead to network inefficiencies. An exemplary network may include plural routers that connect one or more computers or other network devices, including other routers, switches, and hubs. The routers may employ various routing protocols, such as distance-vector routing protocols, to facilitate delivering packets to destination addresses, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
A distance-vector routing protocol determines the best path for a packet to travel through a network to a destination address based on distance and vector metrics. A distance metric may incorporate numbers of router hops, link bandwidth, and so on, between IP addresses. A vector metric may incorporate information pertaining to the next router or IP address to which a given packet should be forwarded
Examples of distance-vector routing protocols include Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), and so on. Currently, EIGRP is emerging as a preferred routing protocol for many network applications. Routers that intercommunicate via EIGRP are often called EIGRP routers.
A network may include plural interfaces, which correspond to communication links between network devices, such as routers, switches, and computers. When routers initially connect to a network the routers establish initial communications with adjacent routers and exchange network topology information in a process called forming adjacency. The network topology information is maintained in topology tables, which are then employed to construct network routes between IP addresses. Network routes are listed in a routing table called a Routing Information Base (RIB).
An EIGRP topology table may contain neighboring router route advertisements, which may contain information pertaining to a particular route through the network to a given destination IP address. If a given route fails, then the router may refer to the topology table to obtain new route information pertaining to the destination IP address. The new routing information is provided to a routing table to facilitate routing data based on the new route information.
The topology table may contain additional information to build distance and vector information needed to reach certain IP addresses. The additional information may include minimum path bandwidth, total path delay, path reliability, delay, and so on. Topology tables are often further employed to perform neighbor-discovery and maintenance operations; to send route updates to neighboring routers when network topology changes; to determine which routes lack loops; to clear bad routes; to query neighbors; and so on.
Hence, a router topology table may be employed extensively during normal network operations. Unfortunately, conventional routers and accompanying systems often lack effective mechanisms for optimizing information in the topology table. Consequently, network performance is compromised.